Means and method for raising and salvaging ships and other sunken objects



Oct. 20, 1925- 1,557,595

w. KIWLIILL ET AL "BANS AND IIETHOD FOR RAISING AND SALVAGING SHIPS AND OTHER SUNKFIN OBJECTS Oct. 20,1925.

W. KlWULL ET AL MEANS AND METHOD FOR RAISING AND SALVAGING SHIPS AND OTHER SUNKEN OBJECTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 14. 1925 carbonic acid, could be lowered for the purpose of freezing in or on to the ship as indicated in Figures 2 and 3. These tanks- 1 filled with liquid air or cooled by carbonic acid escaping from the bottle 5 must, unlike the ordinary storage vessels for liquid air, be such asto allow of an exchange of cold, which can be regulated and localized. If in such a tank 4 the exchange of cold is to take place only through the bottom,

the tank is enclosed laterally with insulating layers 6and air' layers? arranged as required for the purpose of regulating or preventing lateral exchange of cold. The

exchange of cold with the ships hull taking tanks to the outer plating2of theship' and ensuring a firm connection between the tank 4 and the ship by the formation of ice as shown. On the frozen on tank'is shown lift- 7. ing means 10 (pontoons or balloons) so that the gases of evaporation would pass into the lifting devices in order to provide the buoyancy required for raising. In Fig-' ure 2 the pontoon is shown of flexible or balloon type secured to the tank by ropes 11 while'in 'Figure'3 a" rigid caisson 10 of rectangular shape is shown; a

In 'Figure45 two vertical caissons 12,12 are shown, one at each side of the'ship 13, which caissons are rigidly connected to the hull of the ship by an ice layer 14, shown at one side of the drawing "only, the ice layer extending inside the skin of the hull so that the latter is firmlyfattached to the ice, the hullbeing-supercooled. To avoid freezing of the internal'water in the caisson 12 an;insulating layer 15 may be provided at the portions of the caisson at which the ice layer 14 is 'to be produced. The insulating layer 15 may bein the form of an air space used for balancing'the dead weight of the caisson. The refrigerating plant 16 req'uired for theice production is shown diagrammatically mounted on the upper side of the caisson, but this could,'of course,

be arranged inside and-the cooling water 17 required for the refrigerating machine 16 could also be taken direct from the caisson through the tube system 18 enabling the caisson to be emptied through the ap- 7 paratus 16 simultaneously with the production of the ice layer. 14.. The freezing element of'the plant is indicated at 19. 1; A further methodvofl ice formation is illustrated in Figure 5, which indicates in a diagrammatic manner a'section of a sunken vessel. In this case the cooling liquid, which is of lower specific gravity than the water, is directly introduced into the ship and rises through the water in direct contact with it, but Without mixing. In. the

illustration given in Figure 5 the ship is 4:

shown with a leakage hole 20 in the bottom in such a position as to be quite inaccessible.

Under such circumstances a layer of cooled oil 21 can be poured into the space in the 'ves-' sel, being retained in the vessel by the plates 22 and23 and bulkheads 24, theoilspreading uniformlyover the Water surface, cooling also the metal surfaces in contact with it,"and forming a layer of ice 25 under the oillayer. The thickness of the ice layer 25, into which parts of the ships construction and other strengthening members can be frozen in, may be madesufiicient to allow.

the water to be discharged from thespace 26 below the ice layer 25, the water being expelled through the leak 20 inthe bottom of the ship. The ship can by this means be sufficiently lightened to float. '5

Figure 6 illustrates a method of ice for-g mation in which the upper deck of a found ered ship lying on her beam ends is cooled by .a refrigerating plant indicated at 27,

causing the iron plating of the deck 28 to be covered with an ice layer 29. The deck 28is usually covered with wooden planks 30 which insulate the cooled iron at the outer side. The inner side of the deck is provided with iron beams 31 which distribute the coldeffectively and the inner deck covering 32 retains the cooled water'under the plating of the deck until it is converted into ice 33. The deck openings, hatchways and any openings in the outer casing are stopped by the formation of ice layers 34, produced if required by'one of the methods already described. When the deck 28 is completely frozen the expulsion 'of water from' the ships'hull can be effected by means of compressed air,"the internal pressure during the expulsion of the water being resisted effectivelyby the frozen deck.

In all cases where the ice formation is obtained on the lines above described cooling of the ironparts of the ships hull is' effected and consequently there is a contraction which facilitates thedetachment of' the ship from the sea bottom, especially in cases where the ship maybe partly covered with sand or mud. Owing to the largemass of the ice produced and the low temperature to which the parts of the vessel' itself are cooled the ice melts very slowly during the raising of the ship or in the-"event of any unavoidable interruption of the work, so that the ship can be towed without any special'preparation as soon -as it is raised and if the workis' interrupted the renewed formation of ice is facilitated by the cold retained by the vessel.

\Vhat we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A system of salvaging sunken ships and other bodies by the aid of the artificial formation of ice in contact with the bodies, which consists in applying the refrigerating means directly to the metal of the ship or body to be raised so as to maintain the metal at the required position at a lower temperature than that of the surrounding ice which forms upon the cooled metal and remains attached to it.

2. In a system of salvaging sunken ships and other bodies as in claim 1, regulating and localizing the exchange of cold between the metal and the surrounding ice by the provision of heat insulating means.

3. In a system of raising sunken ships and other bodies as in claim 1, effecting the attachment of raising means to the sunken body by the formation of the ice which is attached both to the raising means and the metal of the sunken body.

4. Means for salvaging sunken ships and other bodies by the aid of the artificial for mation of ice, comprising a flexible mat adapted to be placed over an aperture in the sunken body, means for cooling the metal of the sunken body below the temperature of the ice formed upon it by said cooling, and cooling means applied to the flexible mat whereby the mat is formed into a rigid closing member attached to the body by the formation of the ice through and around the mat.

5. Means for salvaging sunken ships and other bodies by the aid of the artificial formation of ice, comprising a mat composed of a network of tubular cooling elements, means for supplying a cooling liquid to the said tubular cooling elements and means for cooling the metal of the sunken body below the temperature of the ice which forms upon the body and upon the flexible network, so as to make the latter into a rigid member attached to the body by the ice which is formed.

6. In salvaging means as in claim 5, an enclosing layer of fibrous material surrounding the network of tubular cooling elements. 7

7. In salvaging means as in claim 5, an enclosing layer of fabric surrounding the networkof tubular cooling elements 8. Means for salvaging sunken ships and other bodies by the aid of the artificial formation of ice, comprising a flexible mat with double sides and means for supplying a cooling medium between the two sides of the mat to cause the formation of ice over the surface of the mat.

9. In salvaging means as in claim 8, heat insulating means provided over a portion of the said mat whereby the formation of ice is limited to a selected part of the mat.

10. In a system of raising sunken ships and other bodies by the aid of the artificial formation of ice, a method of cooling the metal portions of the ship or body and for the formation of the ice which consists in adding to the water within an enclosed space in the body a highly cooled liquid of lower specific gravity than water, which liquid rises within the space against the metal surface and also forms below it a solid ice layer. 1

IVOLDEMAR KIW IHIL. WAL-THER KOENIGER. 

